Shadow's Adventures
by Frodo's sister
Summary: Shadow has an adventure while the hobbits look for him. Sequal to Shadow. No slash and nothing immoral in it. Please give me constructive critism instead of flames.
1. Chapter 1

Shadow's Adventures

Disclaimer: I don't own Lord of the Rings Tolkien does and New Line Cinema owns the movies

Authors Note:

All of my ocs are minor characters except for the cat.

Hobbiton was filled with hobbits moving about, doing their chores on a sunny day. Sam was sitting in front of bag end pulling the weeds that were growing near the tulip plants. Sam did not want the weeds to ruin the Baggins' beautiful plants. The tulips were budding and soon they would open up and show their beautiful petals. A cool breeze hit Sam's jacket while he was pulling the weeds out. When he pulled them out, he put them in a pail to be thrown away. Some of the weeds he pulled were stubborn ones that he could not easily get out of the ground. There was one particular stubborn weed, that no matter how hard he pulled it wouldn't budge. First he pulled with one hand, and then he used both hands. He pulled and pulled till he fell backwards.

_How am I going to get this weed out of there? _he thought to himself.

Then an idea occurred.

_I know what I will do, my Gaffer has a gardening tool that pulls stubborn weeds out, and I will use it on this one._

Sam took the gardening tool out of the tool box and pushed it into the ground using it as a leverage to help pull the weed out. With a few tugs the weed finally came out.

He wiped his brow with his handkerchief.

"My Gaffer will be proud of me," he said to himself.

At that moment three hobbit lads came up to Sam.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" Sam Proudfoot said in a mocking tone.

"It looks like Miss Sam is at it again," said the Polo Odin.

"Doing girl's work huh?" Tom Grub said, jeeringly.

"It is not girl's work," Sam said.

"Oh yes it is," said the other Sam. "Gardening is a girl's chore and only girls do gardening."

"Gardening is very hard work. You need a lot strength to do certain things like planting a young tree sapling."

"Sam is a girl," Polo teased.

I am not a girl!" Sam yelled.

"Prove it," the other Sam said.

Sam got up and stood in front of the other Sam in a challenging stance showing the other Sam that he wasn't afraid of him or his friends. The other Sam pushed Sam and Sam swayed a little from his push, but he balanced himself and stared defiantly at the Other Sam.

"Come on, I said prove it," the other Sam said while he pushed Sam again. Sam however stood his ground and refused to move.

"My Gaffer doesn't want me to fight," said Sam.

"He's chicken," Tom said. "He's afraid to fight you."

"I am not afraid!" Sam yelled.

"Then prove it," the other Sam said while he pushed Sam again.

Sam pushed the other Sam back and all three hobbits jumped on him and began to beat him up.

Frodo saw them beating Sam up and pulled them off of him.

They looked at Frodo.

"Don't you have anything better to do than to pick on my friend? Now get out of here!" Frodo said angrily.

The hobbit lads did not want to deal with Frodo because they knew he would tell his uncle who would make them help Sam. So they walked away.

"Are you alright Sam?" Frodo asked while he helped Sam get up.

"Why are they always picking on me?" Sam asked sadly while he brushed the dirt off his clothes.

"Because they have nothing better to do," Frodo answered. "Come inside and I will take care of those bruises."

They walked inside Bag End and nodded to Bilbo who was reading one of his books in the parlor before they headed to the bath room. Frodo had Sam sat on the edge of the bath tub. He then took a clean cloth and pumped some water on it before he proceeded to wash the dirt off.

"Mr. Frodo they were calling me names. They said that gardening is a girl's chore."

"They are wrong; it is not a girl's choir. I know that female hobbits do gardening, but that does not make it a girl's chore."

"It is hard work, but I enjoy gardening; I wish they wouldn't ruin it for me. I wish they would leave me alone."

There were some tears in Sam's eyes, but he quickly wiped them away. "My Gaffer never lets them near me when we garden together."

"Where is your Gaffer today?"

"He's in bed. He's not feeling too well today."

"I hope he feels better soon," said Frodo

"Thank you Mr. Frodo."

Frodo threw away the rag and got up.

"Come on Sam, I will make you some chamomile tea."

They walked into the kitchen and Sam took the kettle and was about to fill it with water when Frodo said, "sit down Sam; I will make the tea."

Sam sat down at the table and Frodo put a cup in front of with a chamomile tea bag in it. Then he filled the kettle with water, put it on the stove, and waited for it to boil.

"My Gaffer lets me do some gardening by myself. He says that I'm a Ninny Hammer, but once in a while he compliments me on something."

"You are doing a good job helping your father take care of our garden," Frodo said.

"Thank you Mr. Frodo," Sam said just before he took a sip of tea.

"My Gaffer is a good teacher," said Sam.

"That he is," Frodo agreed.

Sam picked up his cup again and was about to take another sip, when he put it down and looked at it sadly.

"Are you alright Sam?"

"I'm still sad over what happened before."

"I'll tell you something that might cheer you up," said Frodo while he poured the tea into the cup and handed the cup to Sam, "I just received a letter yesterday from Merry. He is inviting me over, and he said that I can bring you along if I want to."

"Oh can I?" Sam asked excitedly.

"Yes, but you will have to ask your parents' permission first."

"I'll go ask them now," Sam said excitedly.

"Finish your tea first, Sam."

Sam got permission to visit Brandy Hall.

He was riding in the wagon with Frodo while Bilbo was driving the wagon. They were watching the scenery outside. They saw many hobbits moving about doing different chores. One hobbit woman was hanging the wash while a few hobbit men were plowing a field, and some hobbit children were playing catch with a ball.

When they left Hobbiton the pony followed the road in the woods. They watched the trees pass by while they were moving. Some of them were flowering. Many birds were flying around the trees, landing on branches and chirping to each other while squirrels were scampering up and down the trees gathering nuts.

"Oh look a rabbit," Sam said while he was watching a rabbit hop around in the grass.

"And there is more of them," Frodo said, when he saw a group of rabbits nibbling grass.

"I love rabbits," said Sam. "I wish I can have one as a pet."

"Why don't you ask your Gaffer?" suggested Frodo.

"I don't think my Gaffer will allow to me to keep one. He said that rabbits shouldn't be kept in cages."

They continued to ride through the woods and saw more animals scurrying about like badgers and chipmunks.

"I'm so excited," said Sam. "I've never been to Brandy Hall before."

"It is very large and beautiful place," Frodo said.

"Is it as large as Bag End?"

"It is three times bigger than bag end. In fact, it is so big that you can actually get lost in it. Frodo said."

"It will be great to see them again. The relatives in Brandy Hall always made us feel welcome," said Bilbo.

"Especially Merry and his parents," Frodo added.

"Merry told me that they have lots of parties and celebrations," said Sam.

"Yes, they are," Frodo answered. "Just last week they celebrated Lilac Brandybuck's birthday."

"There are also lots of servants there who will take good care of us," said Bilbo.

Sam thought that it would be odd for him to be served by servants because he was a servant too.

"I can't wait to see Merry again, and see his cat," said Sam.

"I can't either; we are going to have so much fun playing with them."

"Shadow is very friendly," said Bilbo.

"It will also be lots of fun staying overnight in Brandy Hall. They have a lot of guest bedrooms with comfortable beds," said Frodo

"I've never stayed overnight outside my home except when we visit relatives, and sometimes we would sleep on the floor when there are not enough beds," said Sam.

"Don't worry Sam; there will be more than enough beds for everybody."

A few minutes later they saw a very long building standing proudly on the hill 20 feet away with the old forest hedge standing behind it, and a stable next to it.

"Would you like to take a walk the rest of the way?" Frodo asked Sam.

Sam nodded his head.

"Uncle Bilbo can we walk the rest of the way to Brandy Hall?"

Bilbo nodded and stopped the wagon. After Frodo and Sam hoped off, Bilbo drove the pony and carriage to the stables.

To Be Continued


	2. Chapter 2

Shadow's Adventures

Disclaimer: See Page One

Frodo and Sam began to walk through the grass that was dotted here and there with wild flowers including black eyed susans, wild columbines, wild geraniums, and wild blue bells.

"These flowers are beautiful," said Sam. "I love how the fields are decorated with them."

"I do too," Frodo agreed. "But do you notice the lawn that is closer to Brandy Hall? It is trimmed evenly and there are no wild flowers there, and see the apple trees near the Hall."

"I love apples," said Sam.

"I do too."

"I can't wait to see what this place looks like from the inside Mr. Frodo," said Sam.

"I can't wait till I see Merry again. It has been three months since I've last seen him."

"It will be nice to him again," said Sam. "I wonder what games we are going to play."

"We can play whatever game we want to play," said Frodo.

When they got very close to Brandy Hall Bilbo was waiting for them.

"I had the stable boys put our pony and carriage into the stable. Let's go to the front door, they are waiting for us."

They walked until they came to the front door of Brandy Hall, Bilbo knocked on the door and it was opened by a middle aged hobbit woman with curly brown hair. She was wearing an apron that looked like she recently used to wipe off the powder on her hands.

"May I help you?" she inquired of them.

"I am Bilbo Baggins, and this is my nephew Frodo and his friend and gardener, Samwise Gamgee."

"People call me Sam."

"Come inside; they are expecting you."

"Where?" Bilbo asked.

"In the parlor, follow me," she said while she lead them there.

"Are you new?" Frodo asked. "We've never seen you before."

"I'm Ruby Grub. My family and I came from Long Cleave last week where we served a very large family. The parents have many children including a toddler named Diamond."

"It's nice to meet you," said Bilbo. "We are here to visit Saradoc and his family."

They walked down a tunnel till they came to the parlor. When they entered the parlor they saw Saradoc and Esmeralda sitting on a sofa and talking to each other while Merry and little Pippin were playing on the floor with the cat. Merry was waving one of the cat's toys side to side, a stick with a tail attached to it, in front of Shadow. Shadow was following it with his eyes, and then he swatted it with his paws.

"Your guests are here," Ruby said.

"Thank you Ruby," said Esmeralda.

Saradoc and Esmeralda Brandybuck got up to greet their guests, and Merry gave Pippin the toy before he joined them.

"It's so good to see you again," Esmeralda said while she hugged Frodo.

"It's a pleasure to see you too, Aunt Esmeralda," said Frodo. "I missed you."

"I'm going back to the kitchen now," Ruby curtseyed to Esmeralda and left.

"I'm glad you came here too Bilbo," said Saradoc while he hugged Bilbo.

"Yes, and I'm glad I did. I'm always glad to see you," said Bilbo.

"Merry!" Frodo said excitedly while he hugged him.

"It's great to see you again, Frodo," Merry said happily.

"I see you brought your friend with you," Esmeralda said.

"Thank you for letting me come to your house, Mrs. Brandybuck," Sam said with a little bow.

"There is no need to bow to me, and call me Esmeralda."

"Mrs. Esmeralda."

Esmeralda shook her head at Sam's misunderstanding.

"Sam is brought up to respond to people that way," Frodo told her while he ruffled Sam's hair.

"I'm glad you are here Sam," said Merry. "We are going to have so much fun together.

"Thank you Mr. Merry."

"I'd like to introduce you to my little cousin."

Merry lead Sam to the middle of the room, where Pippin was busy playing with Shadow.

"Pippin?"

Pippin looked at Merry.

"This is Sam,"

"I'm glad to meet you Mr. Pippin."

"Why does he call me Mr.?" Pippin asked with a puzzled expression.

"It wouldn't be polite for me not to," Sam answered.

The answer confused Pippin.

"How old are you?" Sam asked.

"I'm six."

Sam bent down to be more eye level with Pippin.

"What are you doing?" Sam asked.

"I'm playing with Shadow. He loves playing with this toy."

"Can I play Mr. Pippin?" Sam asked.

Pippin gave Sam the toy and Sam began to move it around.

"This is so much fun," said Sam.

"He also likes to play with his toy mouse," said Pippin.

Merry and Frodo joined them.

Frodo scratched Shadow's ears.

"He likes it when you do that," Pippin said.

Pippin began to talk a mile a minute. "I have lots of toys that I play with too. I like to play with my stuffed animals, my horse and buggy, my…"

"I gave the horse and buggy to him," Merry said to Frodo while Pippin was chattering.

While the four lads were playing with Shadow, Bilbo was having a conversation with Esmeralda and Saradoc.

"Gandalf visited Hobbiton last week," said Bilbo. "He showed fireworks to the children and all three of us went on a picnic."

"What did you bring with you on the picnic?" Saradoc asked.

Ruby returned again.

"Here are some drinks for you," Ruby said while she placed them on a small table.

"Thank you," Esmeralda said.

She got up and began to hand everybody a drink. Sam also got up to help.

"Sit down Sam," said Merry. "You are a guest here, not a servant."

"But it's highly improper," Sam objected.

"Merry is right," Frodo said. "Sit down."

Sam sat down on the floor, and Shadow climbed on his lap.

"He likes you," Pippin said.

Sam began to pet Shadow, and Shadow began to purr.

"It's a beautiful day today. Why don't you boys go outside, and take Shadow with you?" Esmeralda suggested. "He loves to romp around out there."

"Yes, Bilbo agreed. It will be good for you to be outside in the fresh air."

The lads put their jackets on, and Merry put Pippin's jacket on him.

"Come on Shadow," Merry said.

The four lads and Shadow walked outside. Shadow saw a monarch butterfly flying over the blue bells and began to go after it.

"Why don't we play a game?" Merry suggested.

"I want to play tag," Pippin said.

"Alright we'll play tag; who will be it?" Frodo asked.

"I will be," volunteered Sam.

"I think we should decide by drawing sticks or something," said Merry.

"I don't mind Mr. Merry," said Sam.

"Are you sure Merry asked?"

"Let Sam be it first, Merry," said Frodo.

"Thank you Mr. Frodo."

"What can we use as a home base?" Merry asked.

"How about that tree over there," Frodo answered while he pointed to the front left.

"READY GO!" Merry yelled.

Everybody began to run in different directions. Sam was chasing after Merry, but Merry was running a foot ahead of him.

"Can't catch me, can't catch me!" Merry yelled while he ran towards the tree.

Sam continued to chase after him, but Merry touched the tree before Sam was able to tag him.

He began to chase after Pippin.

"Nah, nah! Nah, nah," Pippin sang.

Sam slowed down his pace because Pippin was tiny and couldn't run as fast as the other hobbits. When he got close enough to Pippin he tried to tag him, but Pippin ran to the right and made him miss.

"Ha, ha, you missed me!" yelled Pippin.

"I'm going to get you Mr. Frodo!" Sam shouted.

He began to chase Frodo and as soon as he got close enough to him, he tagged him.

"You're it now Mr. Frodo," said Sam.

Merry began to run again.

"Can't catch me, can't catch me," Merry teased Frodo in a singsong voice.

The hobbits continued to play for another hour.

"I'm getting tired of this game," Merry said.

"Me too," said Frodo. "Let's play something else."

"Let's climb that tree," said Merry.

"I want to climb a tree; I want to climb a tree!" Pippin said excitedly.

"I'm not going to climb a tree. My gaffer says that hobbit feet were meant to stay on the ground."

"Come on Sam, it will be a lot of fun," Merry explained.

Sam shook his head. "You go ahead and climb it; I'll just sit here and watch you."

"Let's play a different game," said Frodo.

"Why don't we go catch some frogs?" suggested Merry.

"That sounds like a good idea Mr. Merry. Maybe we can see who can catch the most frogs."

"I'm going to catch a zillion frogs," said Pippin.

Frodo rubbed Pippin's head.

"Wait a minute," said Sam. "Do you think it's alright to take Mr. Pippin down there?"

"It's alright, as long as we watch him," said Frodo.

"And Shadow too," added Merry.

"Cats can take care of themselves, Merry."

"I know, but I don't want him to get lost."

The four hobbit lads began to walk to Brandywine River. The other three walked slowly so that Pippin was able to keep up with them.

"Come on Shadow?" Merry commanded. Shadow followed them.

When they got to the muddy bank near the shallow part of the river, they began to look for frogs.

"Can we go swimming?" Pippin asked.

Sam frowned at the idea of swimming.

"No thank you Mr. Pippin."

"It's too cold to go swimming," said Frodo.

Merry saw a frog and jumped on it.

"I caught one," Merry yelled.

"I caught one too," Frodo said after he jumped on another frog and grabbed it.

"Look, Shadow is chasing frogs too," said Pippin.

They watched Shadow jumping on a frog and trying to catch it with his paws, but he missed it. Sam almost caught a frog, but the slippery amphibian managed to escape from his grasp.

"I caught another one," said Merry.

The hobbits continued to catch frogs until a very large dog appeared from the nearby forest. His hair was bristling, his teeth bared and low growling sounds were coming from his throat. The four hobbits held on tightly to each other in fear. Pippin opened his mouth to scream, but Merry quickly covered his mouth with his hand and prevented him from making a sound.

"Shush Pippin, I won't let the dog hurt you," Merry said quietly and soothingly while he held Pippin Protectively. Pippin whimpered and held on tighter to Merry.

The dog however wasn't interested in the hobbits. When Shadow saw him, he arched his back, fluffed his tail, bared his claws, and hissed at the dog. The dog began to chase after him.

"Meorrrr!" Shadow screamed before he took off for the trees.

The dog was barking and growling at Shadow while he was chasing him until Shadow quickly scrambled up the tree. The dog continued to stand underneath the tree barking at Shadow while Shadow was watching him from the safety of the tree. Merry did not like the predicament Shadow was in because he was very fond of his cat. So he gathered his courage and a stick, and began to run after the dog.

"Be careful Merry," said Frodo with concern in his voice.

"Don't Merry," said Sam fearing that the dog might attack Merry.

"I'm not going to let that dumb dog hurt shadow."

"Get out of here dumb dog!" Merry yelled while holding his stick in threatening gesture.

The dog looked at him

"I said go!"

Merry tried to scare the dog away by waving his arms and sticks and yelling wordlessly at it. The dog ran away, and Shadow quickly scrambled down the tree on the other side.

Merry scared the dog away by waving his arm and stick and yelling at it wordlessly.

"Let's go into the woods and find Shadow," said Merry.

The hobbit lads entered the woods but when they came to the other side of the tree that Shadow climbed he was nowhere to be found.

To Be Continued

Authors Note:

Please don't do what Merry just did. It is not safe.


	3. Chapter 3

Shadow's Adventures

Disclaimer: See Page One

"He's not here!" Merry said, dismayed.

"We'll start looking for him," said Frodo. "Pippin, hold Merry's hand."

Merry grabbed Pippin's hand, but Pippin pulled his hand away.

"I'm not a baby; I don't need to hold anybody's hand," Pippin complained.

"We are entering the woods, and we don't want to lose you," Frodo said.

"Nobody else is holding hands," Pippin objected.

"That's because we are older," Frodo explained.

"I'm a big boy too, and I am not going to hold Merry's hand!" Pippin exclaimed angrily.

"Either you hold his hand, or one of us will take you back to Brandy Hall," Frodo said sternly to him.

"Alright," Pippin said glumly.

"Now let's start looking for Shadow," said Frodo.

"Which way should we go?" Sam asked.

"Let's head towards the left," Merry answered.

"Here Shadow! Here Shadow!" the hobbits called while they began to walk toward the left.

Meanwhile Shadow having escaped from the dog began to explore the woods. He headed towards the right, the opposite way the hobbits went and began to walk forward. He continued to walk in that direction until he heard some birds chirping. His hunting instincts kicked in. He began to walk quietly in the tall grass making as little noise as possible. He stopped for a moment to see if the birds notice his presence. The birds continued to chirping to each other and seemed not to notice him. He continued to walk quietly making as little sound as possible stopping every few seconds to see if they are alert. When he got close enough to them he began to chase them. The birds began to quickly fly away.

Shadow was disappointed when he missed the birds because he was a little hungry, but soon forgot about them when he saw a rabbit eating grass. He began to stalk the rabbit the same way that he stalked the birds, but before he got close enough the rabbit became alert to his presence and began to hop quickly away. Shadow began to chase after the rabbit, but the rabbit got a head start. The more he chased the rabbit the further away from Brandy Hall he was going. He was slowly catching up to the rabbit, but the rabbit managed to stay at least one foot ahead of him. The distances between the two were closing in. Both of the animals had one thing on their minds, the rabbit's to survive and Shadow's to kill and eat his meal. He was getting closer to the rabbit every second. Just as he was about to catch the rabbit, the rabbit ran into the hole.

Chasing after the rabbit made Shadow so exhausted that he curled up into a ball and fell asleep. A few hours later he woke up and continued on his journey.

He saw some leaves on the ground and began to pounce on it, after a few minutes of playing. He continued on his way. He encountered a fox scarring about. He also encountered a skunk, and decided to go after it, but the skunk saw him, and lifted her tail in warning. Shadow, not desiring to be sprayed by the skunk, walked away.

He continued to walk for a few hours until he saw a tree he desired to climb. He climbed the tree until he was on one of the branches. He was observing the area from the tree. He sat on one of the tree branches waiting patiently for prey. He stayed there for 20 minutes, until his sense of smell became alert; it was the smell of another bird, a sparrow.

He quietly climbed down the tree, and began to stalk the sparrow. The bird became alert to the cat's presence too. Just as he was about to take off, Shadow pounced on him with his claws, killed him, and ate him. When he was finished eating his meal, he took another nap.

While Shadow was on an adventure, the four hobbits were looking for him.

"Shadow, Shadow," the hobbits were calling, but Shadow did not answer their call, because he was too far away.

They walked for about ten minutes and heard some rustling through thick foliage, but to their disappointment, the animal that appeared was a squirrel.

"That is not Shadow; it's only a squirrel," said Merry who's disappointment showed through his voice.

Frodo squeezed his shoulder in silent sympathy.

They continued to walk, and five minutes later came upon the large bush. Frodo dropped down on his hands and knees and put his head into the bush to see if Shadow was there. The other hobbit lads did the same, but Shadow wasn't there. When they heard a rustle in a tree, they got out of the bush and headed to where the tree was, but saw only another squirrel scampering down the tree.

"I hope we find Shadow soon," said Merry.

"I hope so too, Mr. Merry," said Sam.

"We'll keep looking for Shadow until we find him," Pippin said hopefully refusing to give up.

The hobbits continued to look for Shadow looking through bushes, holes, tall grass, trees, and anywhere else the cat may be hiding for over an hour. Merry became more worried and upset as time went by.

"We look and look, and he is nowhere to be found!" Merry yelled frustratingly.

"Calm down," Merry said Frodo. "Getting upset won't help us find Shadow."

" What if he gets lost and can't find his way back?"

"He can find his way back," Sam said.

"How?"

"I have heard about cats traveling away far away from their homes, but returned to it later on.

"How do you know that Sam?" Frodo asked.

"My Gaffer told me," said answered, and besides, my uncle Hal had a cat that ran away for over a month, but he returned.

"I don't want Shadow to be gone for over a month; I want him now," Merry said sadly.

Another hour has passed by and Pippin began to slow down. The other hobbits saw how tired Pippin was.

"Come on Mr. Pippin, climb on my shoulders," said Sam while he bent down.

Pippin climbed on his shoulders and the hobbits continued to search for Shadow.

40 minutes later, they came to the edge of the woods. Pippin looked up at one of the trees, and saw a siluet of a cat in the tree.

"Look Merry, a cat is in the tree, and he looks like Shadow."

"Which tree Pippin," Merry asked.

"That one," Pippin answered while he pointed to the front right.

Hope rose in Merry, and he began to climb the tree calling for Shadow's name all the time, but to his dismay, when he saw the cat he discovered it wasn't Shadow. The cat ran further up the tree in fear.

Merry climbed down slowly with a disappointed look in his eyes.

"Is it Shadow?" Pippin asked excitedly not knowing that Merry was climbing down the tree without cat.

"No, it is not shadow," Merry said sadly.

They continued to look for him for another ten minutes before Frodo decided that it was time for them to head back to the hall.

"I think we should go home now," Frodo said.

"We can't go home now!" Merry yelled angrily. "We have to look for Shadow until we find him!"

"We have been looking for him for over two hours and I am getting hungry."

"I am hungry too," said Sam while he was holding a now sleeping Pippin on his shoulder.

"How can you think about Food while Shadow is out there? What if another animal attacks him?"

"Shadow can take care of himself," said Frodo. "We have to go now. We brought no provisions with us, and, and this is too much for Pippin; besides, I promised your aunt that we would be home on time for lunch."

Merry, seeing sense in Frodo's words, agreed with him.

"Alright we'll go home," Merry said sadly.

Frodo put an arm around Merry, and said, "don't worry Merry, we will look for him again later on or tomorrow."

The hobbits headed for home.

A badger was chasing after Shadow who was bothering her young. They ran through the bushes, and over a hill till the badger thought the cat was far enough away from her babies.

Shadow took another cat nap and continued to walk until he was miles away from Brandy Hall.

Three hobbit children, a tweenage girl named Lilac Birch and her little brother Odo and sister Tulip were looking for some berries for their mother to use to bake a pie with. The children were dressed plainly in old clothes.

"Look there is a cat," the Tulip said when she saw Shadow batting one of the wild flowers with his paw.

"Let's take him home and make him our pet," said the Odo.

"We will take him home," said Lilac. "This cat is just what we need to get rid of the mice at home."

They approached the cat who didn't seemed to be bothered by their presence and continue to play with the flower. When they close to him, he began to rub against their legs. He was getting hungry again, and hoped that they brought some food for him.

"This cat is friendly," said Tulip who bent down to pet it.

The Odo also petted Shadow. Lilac picked up the cat in her arms and began to carry him home.

"Come on," she said to her siblings.

"Meow," Shadow said softly.

"Don't worry Shadow, there will be plenty of food for you when we get home," Lilac said.

To Be Continued


	4. Chapter 4

Shadow's Adventure's

Disclaimer: See Page One.

Two days have passed since Shadow was missing. Yesterday Bilbo and Saradoc went with Merry Frodo and Sam to look for Shadow. Esmeralda did not allow Pippin to go with them, and did not give in to his protests. She considered him too young to be spending so much time looking for him.

Merry sat at the table with the other hobbits during supper time picking at his food. He felt so sad, that he could hardly eat.

"Come on Merry, you need to eat more," said Esmeralda worriedly.

"I can't mama. I'm so worried about Shadow," Merry said sadly.

"But you need your strength," she argued.

"I can't."

"You need to eat more to keep up your strength," said Bilbo. "You need enough energy to look for Shadow again tomorrow, and I don't want you to collapse."

"Yes," said Saradoc. "I want you to eat more than this."

Merry obeyed his father and forced himself to eat more food. He didn't eat as much as they would have liked him to, but it was better than eating next to nothing.

"Can I be excused?" Merry asked.

Saradoc nodded. Merry got up from his chair and slowly walked into his room with a glum expression on his face. The other hobbit lads noticed this.

"I feel sorry for poor Merry, having lost his cat," said Sam.

"I feel sorry for him too," said Frodo. "I noticed how sad he looked when he was eating supper."

"Let's try and cheer him up after supper," Sam suggested.

"Good idea," said Frodo.

When supper was over Frodo, Sam, and Pippin walked down the hall into Merry's room and knocked on the door.

"Come in," Merry said quietly.

The three hobbit lads entered the room and saw Merry sitting on his bed holding an old stuffed cat in his hands.

"We came to cheer you up," said Pippin.

"Nothing can cheer me up," said Merry. "Shadow means everything to me."

Frodo sat next to Merry and put an arm around him in an effort to comfort him.

"I know Shadow means a lot to you, and I'm sorry that we haven't found him yet, but we haven't given up looking for him."

"But it's two days, and I miss him."

"I know he's special to you," said Sam. "My cousin once had a pet rabbit that went missing for a week, but when they found him he was the happiest lad in the Shire."

"I'm worried about Shadow. What if he gets hurt? What if an animal attacks him?"

"Shadow is quite capable of taking care of himself, and we will find him," said Frodo who tried to reassure him.

"Yes he can," Sam agreed.

Sam and Frodo were so busy trying to comfort Merry that they did not notice Pippin leaving the room. Pippin came back a few minutes later with his favorite teddy bear.

"Here Merry," Pippin said while he gave his favorite teddy bear to Merry. "I want to give you something to make you feel better."

"I can't take this from you," said Merry. "This is your favorite."

"I want you to have it," said Pippin. "He will make you feel less lonely."

"You have us too," said Frodo.

Merry put the toy cat down and took the stuffed bear. Then he put Pippin on his lap and hugged him while tears began to fall down the cheeks. Sam and Frodo wrapped their arms around Merry and Pippin and held them until Merry stopped crying. When the hobbits let go of each other, they sat silently together for a few hours. Merry felt a little better knowing that he has friends who care about him.

Shadow having eaten his fill of mice was resting comfortably on an old soft pillow. He spent two days with the hobbit family who fed him, petted him, and played with him. He missed the Brandybucks especially Merry and decided that it was time for him to head home. It was pitch black outside with twinkling lights in the sky when Shadow jumped out the window and began to head for home. The crescent moon lighted his way.

Shadow walked for a few miles until he entered a black and white cat's territory. The other cat looked at shadow. Then he arched his back stuck out his claws, and made his hair stand on edge. He growled low in his throat and hissed at Shadow, because he did not want Shadow in his territory. Shadow did likewise.

"Meorrrr!" they screamed loudly while they pounced on each other.

The two cats were wrestling with each other and trying to tear each other apart with their claws. After a few minutes they separated and cleaned their wounds. Shadow walked twenty feet away from the other cat's territory, and took another cat nap, the fight made him exhausted.

A few hours later, Shadow woke up again, and continued to head home. He went off his path again when he smelt some birds 20 feet away. He stalked them until he got close enough to chase them. Most of the birds flew away, but he pounced on one of them, tore it apart with his claws, and ate it.

He began to head back to his trail when he a mean hobbit man began to throw stones at Shadow.

"Get out of here!" he yelled.

Shadow, who did not want to get hit by a stone, began to run away. The mean hobbit man continued to chase after Shadow and throwing stones at him because he hates cats but he missed him. The mean hobbit man gave up and began to walk back to where he was and Shadow walked in another direction, after a few minutes he began to find his trail again, but another dog spotted him.

The dog began to chase him. Shadow quickly ran up another tree to escape from the dog. The dog sat underneath it for a half hour and barked at him, but when it saw a rabbit it forgot about the cat and began to run after the rabbit.

When Shadow saw that he was safe he climbed down the tree, and began to head for home again. It took him over three hours to pick up his trail again because he didn't want to encounter the mean hobbit man or the dog again, and he kept on being side tracked by different things.

The sun rose the next morning and Bilbo and the three hobbit lads were dressed and wearing their jackets. Bilbo picked up his walking stick.

"Here is some food for you," Esmeralda said while she handed Bilbo a picnic basket filled with food.

"Thank you," said Bilbo. "We are planning to go further today."

Pippin walked into the main room in his pajamas with barely opened eyes and tousled hair, and saw the others getting ready to leave.

"I want to go with you," said Pippin. "I want to help look for Shadow too."

"No," Esmeralda said. "You are too young."

"But I want to Aunt Esmeralda."

"Why can't he mama?" Merry asked.

"Because you will be walking a lot and it will be too much for Pippin."

"Aunt Esmeralda is right," said Frodo.

"I wish I wasn't so little," Pippin said sadly.

"Why can't we ride the carriage today?" Sam asked.

"Because we can't ride it through the woods; it is too thick for it to go through," Bilbo answered.

They walked out the door and began to look for Shadow again.

"I hope we find him today," Merry said while they walked to the forest.

"I hope so too," said Sam.

"Don't worry lads, we'll find him sooner or later," Bilbo said. He was trying to give the lads some encouragement.

They walked through the forest for a few hours looking through every bush and up every tree that they passed by.

Sam saw one of the bushes shaking and he realized that an animal was inside it. He bent down and looked through it, but found that it was only a badger who hissed at him before it scampered away. The other hobbits were watching him.

When he got out of the bush he said, sadly," that is not shadow."

They heard a meowing sound toward their left.

"Let's follow this sound," said Bilbo. "It might be shadow."

They followed the meows until they saw a black and white cat sitting near a spruce tree cleaning itself. It was the same cat that fought Shadow last night.

"That's not shadow either," said Frodo."

"Let's go by the river and eat our lunch," said Bilbo. "It's not too far from here."

The hobbits walked out of the forest and through the tall grass and some wild flowers dotted here and there until they came to the river bank. Bilbo spread the blanket on the ground and then opened up the picnic basket. The hobbit lads helped him put the food on the blanket. They were eating sandwiches, mushrooms, and scones, and drinking fruit juice.

"What if we never find Shadow?" Merry said. "He is such a good cat, I miss him."

"Don't give up hope," said Frodo. "We will find him sooner or later."

"But it's been three days," said Merry.

"We can't give up now," said Sam. "My Old Gaffer said that quitters never accomplish anything. Maybe we will find him today."

"I hope so," said Merry.

Frodo said a silent prayer asking Eru and the Vala to help them find Shadow today.

Merry picked up a scone to eat, and just as he was about to take a bite, he saw the dog that chased after Shadow a few days ago drinking water 20 feet away from them. When he saw the dog he became angry. He picked up a stone to throw at the dog, but Frodo held his hand.

"No Merry."

"But it is his fault that Shadow is missing," he said angrily.

"Throwing stones at the dog is not going to help Shadow; besides the dog might retaliate, and that is the last thing we need right now," said Bilbo.

Merry reluctantly agreed with them and dropped the stone. After they rested and ate their lunch they began to look for shadow again. They passed by the dog who was chasing a rabbit while they followed the river. They followed it a few miles, but saw no sign of Shadow. They walked into the forest again and continued to walk forward right for another half mile. The birds were twittering and flying on and off the branches, the squirrels were scampering around, and chattering to each other, the rabbits were also scampering all over the place eating grass, but there was no Shadow.

They came to the edge of the forest and saw an old simile. A hobbit woman was outside hanging the wash. Bilbo and the other hobbits approached her.

"Excuse me mam," Bilbo said trying to get her attention.

She looked at him while she was hanging Tulip's dress.

"Yes?" she enquired.

We are looking for a grey cat. Have you seen any?" Frodo asked.

"My children took him home a few days ago. He is very friendly and a good mouser."

Merry's eyes lit up with hope.

"That must be Shadow. Can we see him now?" Merry asked.

"He left last night. I'm sorry," the woman said when she saw the disappointed look on their faces.

"Thank you," Bilbo said sadly.

They continued to look for another two hours before Bilbo decided to head home.

"We should head home," now said Bilbo. "It is getting late."

They walked slowly home, all of them were in a somber mood especially Merry.

"It's hopeless," Merry said while tears began to fall down his face. "We'll never find him."

Frodo put his arm around Merry in a silent effort to comfort him.

"It's not hopeless," said Sam.

"Yes it is," said Merry.

"I'm going to ask Saradoc to send a search party tomorrow to look for Shadow," said Bilbo trying to cheer them up. "They will cover more ground."

They walked the rest of the way home in silence, but when they came to Brandy Hall, a wonderful surprise waited for them. Pippin was happily playing with Shadow while Merry's parents were watching them. When Merry saw Shadow, his eyes became bright and he began to run the rest of the way home.

"Shadow!" he yelled.

He picked up Shadow in his arms, and said to him. "Oh Shadow, I missed you so much, you naughty cat. Don't you ever run away again."

Of course Shadow did not understand what Merry was saying. He was only glad that he was in his arms again and began to purr while he carried him into the hall.

Bilbo and the other hobbits caught up with Saradoc and Esmeralda.

"He came home this morning after you left," said Saradoc.

"That's wonderful, Saradoc," said Bilbo. "Merry is so happy to see him again."

"He is," said Saradoc.

The rest of the time Merry enjoyed the visit from the other hobbits. They had a lot of fun playing games, and they had a big birthday party for Berilac.

The End.


End file.
